41934, Little Hill, Oklahoma
They had both lost track of time, staying hidden in the cellar. It was dark, dusty, and dimly lit by a singular lantern. There was a small window positioned on the top of the wall to their right, facing the forest. Frank would often take a glance through it, expecting to see either the sunrise, or the same pair of white eyes that stared into his soul hours before. Strangely, there still appeared to be no signs of the coming dawn, no indication of sunrise to be found. Raymond crept over to the cellar door, where light shone through the cracks of the frame. A lamp was left turned on in the hallway.
“Raymond, I’ve got bad news.”
“What’s that?”
“I see them. At least, the eyes. There’s a whole damn pack of ‘em, it seems.”
“How many are there?”
“Assuming they got two eyes like ourselves…at least three of ‘em, hard to see. But they’re poppin’ out of the woods and into the front lawn.”
“Great.” Raymond retreated from the door, careful not to let any of the wood creak below his feet. It was going to strike again, and there was nothing they could do but wait. Suddenly, they heard a loud stomp, seemingly from the front door. Frank gripped the shotgun tightly. Raymond aimed towards the door. The stomping made its way through the hall, accompanied by the sounds of the creature’s body rubbing against the walls, its arms scraping through. Another sound, that of regular, but heavy footsteps, followed behind it.
Another creature just came in, Frank presumed. He made his way over to Raymond, who had repositioned himself next to some shelves near the corner.
“I think we could run for it if they both go upstairs,” Frank proposed, whispering.
“Hell, based on what you said, there could be another one out there. I’m not taking any chances, especially given our condition. My condition, especially.” The footsteps diverged from the large stomps, which remained climbing the stairway. Frank went to look out of the window again to check if another set of eyes were present. Nothing.
Surely, I miscounted or something, Frank thought. No, it couldn’t be…
Suddenly, the sound of splintered wood erupted from above, followed by a large THUD.
The floorboards above gave in, creating a large bulge in the ceiling. Frank and Raymond backed away from the bulge, before the floor cracked and the creature fell through. Frank sprawled to the door, pulling Raymond over with him. He aimed his shotgun towards the darkness.
“Go! I’ll follow after!”
“Shit, you don’t have to tell me twice!” Raymond ran up the steps to the cellar door and made a run for the front door. Frank followed suit, looking back at the cellar. He couldn’t see much, provided he had but the light from the lantern he left on the bottom step. Nonetheless, what he saw emerge from the darkness was a long, scrawny limb, scarcely resembling what he could only interpret as a long, thick blade. It had translucent skin covering it, and blood masked the bottom. He quickly looked away, shut the door from behind him, and tried his best to catch up with Raymond. As they entered the woods, he quickly picked up the lantern he left by the treeline by the driveway, pulling out his lighter and igniting it. From within the house, that same screeching howl that he heard from before had erupted again. He sprinted into the forest, just barely seeing Raymond from ahead. Though it might have just been some shred of optimism that had made it through his mind, he believed that sunrise was soon to happen.
Just another hour. No more, no less…